Bike for travelling over water

ABSTRACT

It is an assembly, when attached to a bike, renders it possible todrive it on water as on land. To buoy the bike and make it float on water, floaters which have the shape of convex lenses, or half of a ball, were used. Each one of those floaters was made to spin around a shaft which is specially designed so as not to slide, when fixed by brackets to the frame of the bike. The powered wheel carries cylindroid, fastened to the spokes in it, to do the rowing action. Another type of floaters which may be used, are of the shape of the letter U, and each one partially surrounds a wheel, and is supported to the frame of the bike, at its wheel&#39;s axle level. Also a disc that carries a number of half hyperboloid section, may do the rowing action, once they are put inside the powered wheel. The foot pedals are equipped with platens, to assist the rowing action.

This application is a continuation to application Ser. No. 041,704,filed May 23, 1979, which was called "Rowing Bike".

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the invention

What I submit here is a compact assembly, which enables a rider of abike to drive it on water in the same manner he drives it on land.

Notice: Whenever the word bike is mentioned, it indicates either abicycle, motorbike, or a motorcycle.

This application is following the main streamline and subject, of theabandoned application Ser. No. 713,974 (art unit 315) submitted before,filing date Aug. 12, 1976; and which was called also "Rowing Bike".

(2) Description of the prior art

Many inventions dealt with the same idea or subject, that is a bike or afloater which drives on water by means of a pedalling action. U.S. Pat.No. 1,869,139 by Gargiulo which he called hydrocycle, is an example. Heclaimed a floater, comprising a disc, covered on one side by inflatablerubber, or two spaced discs, with a water tight covering engaged overone of the discs, and secured on the face of the other. And I thoughtthat using inflatable rubber is a little bit risky on water, since it isliable to be pinched, and causes the bike to sink. Also upon speeding onwater it will give a rough ride, because the rubber is elastic. Heclaimed also a rowing mechanism fixed on said floaters, which comprisesmany rods, many cams, and many moving parts, and I found that I canoffer a less complicated system.

His method requires changing the design of the conventional bike to givethe propelling action to the floaters. The bike also confronts greatopposition from the water, because the floaters are wide, which requiresstrong pedalling. And it takes a job to set up or, dismantle theassembly to switch from driving on water or on land.

I found another invention by Petroskey U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,239, which hecalled a float apparatus for a bicycle, and in which the design isbulgy, heavy, and not practical to be driven on land when completelyassembled. It also requires a special mechanism to give the steeringaction to the propelling means, and one misses the simplicity in therowing means, the steering means, or the pedal assist means.

I mention here another U.S. invention U.S. Pat. No. 271,799 by Coomans,which he called marine velocipede. His design is suitable and designedspecially for tricycles, and only for the very old type of them whichhave huge tires, so they are unadaptable to the bikes in the market now.Special types of tires for floatation are needed; their size should behuge, and the rubber tire must have extended fins moulded in them, to dothe rowing action. U.S. invention U.S. Pat. No. 839,476 by Hartlettwhich he called water transportation means, needs a special wide forkframe, to be able to take the tire, and two auxilliary inflatabletubular tires for floatation, one piece on each side of the wheel. Healso claimed inflatable floaters, and their delicate telescopic supportmeans, and it is clear that such water transportation means should bedriven slowly, heavy vehicles like motorcycles could not be used, alsoheavy people will find it like walking on a wire, and the center ofgravity is limited to a narrow area. He also claimed special types ofpaddles secured to the spokes in the wheel, and the bending of thespokes is apt to occur in his design.

In U.S. invention U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,669 by Katehis which he calledamphibious vehicle; he claimed horizontally extending pontoons, and theyare hollow. Besides that he claimed specially designed propulsion meanswhich require a new type of rear wheels, still the simplicity inconstruction is missing here.

Two other inventions will be mentioned here just for comparison. One ofthem is by Nilsson U.S. Pat. No. 2,169,391 called water unicycle, wherehe used a circular, tubular, rubber wheel, to buoy his device; and it isclear that said device has a limited use.

As of the other U.S. Pat. No. 698,184; an Italian invention by MezzanoAdolfo; which he called the floater propelled by pedalling, he used afloating board that has special foot pedals, equiped so as to do rowing,it is also evident that his invention is of limited use. Also forcomparison the following U.S. patents were cited, Osofs U.S. Pat. No.1,060,620, Garehime U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,804, and Ankert U.S. Pat. No.4,092,945, besides a Canadian Pat. No. 772,914 by Tremblay.

I am offering here a design which is simple in construction; yet it isstrong, and sturdy for the purpose it is used for. It is safe to usewithout risk, and encounters less friction with water; it is also cheapand does not need altering in the construction or the mechanism of thebike.

It is also light in weight, and compact, which allows it to be driven onland without even dismantelling it. For all those factors mentioned; Ibelieve that my new embodiment excells over the other ones mentionedbefore, and it is practical.

SUMMERY OF THE INVENTION

The rowing bike is an assembly simple in construction, and with its aid,a bike could be driven on water as on land. It consists of 4 buoyingmeans, and each one of them may be of the shape of a magnifying lens, orhalf a ball. Two of these floaters are needed for each wheel in thebike, one on each side of the wheel. Each floater spins around an axle,which is inserted in the middle of the floater. The floater may resemblethe shape of the letter U--and in such case 2 floaters are needed; onefor every wheel in the bike. It partially surrounds the wheel withouttouching it. With the aid of a bar which is fastened to the midst ofthis floater, and whose two ends are tilted like a letter L, the floaterwill be attached to the frame of the bike at the wheel's axle level. Asfor the rowing means, equally spaced cylindroid are provided for thepowered wheel, and they are attached to the spokes in it to do therowing action. In another design, a disc with a centered hole, is putinside the powered wheel, and said disc sits on the axle of the wheeland extends to touch its circumference. The disc carries a number ofhalf hyperboloid section, which take equally spaced positions on bothits sides, and they pair. Their function is to do the rowing action.

As of the pedal, each one of them carries a paddle assist, to help inthe rowing action.

The detailed description of the new embodiment is submitted right afterthe drawings, which are numbered for referals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross section, in a floater that has the shape of a convexlens 1-11, and in its center is a crossing tube 1-12, and at its endsare the discs 1-13 to trap the floater. Two washers 1-14, one on eachside of said tube, are used to lessen the friction. The floater spinsaround a shaft 1-15, which is the extended member of the principlesupporting means that resembles the letter W (1-16); which has anextended member. This extension is perpendicular on the plane on whichthe letter W shaped support is written, as of 1-17; it is a locking pin.

FIG. 2 is a cross section in a floater of the shape of half a ball 2-21.Also the tube 2-22 which crosses it is similar to that one in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a supporting shaft bent like a letter W 3-31 of which onemember is extended 3-32. The extended straight member is bent for 90degrees, to lay on a plane perpendicular on that one on which the letterW is written. The end of the shaft carries a locking pin 3-33.

FIG. 4 is a cross section in two combined half flat brackets 4-41, wherethe flat members 4-42 of both brackets are touching. Both brackets arebound together by means of a screw 4-43, and two nuts 4-44. That bracketassembly can attach two shafts together, even if there was an anglebetween them.

FIG. 5 shows a U shaped floater 5-51 and it is supported at its midst bya U shaped bar 5-52 by means of screws and nuts 5-53. At the end of thefloater 5-51 the bar is acutely bent backwards; then bent 90 degreestowards the inside, then with another upward twist of 90 degrees, itwill be adapted to attach to the frame of the bike that holds the wheel.The ends 5-55 are bent like a letter W, to help the assembly not toslide from its place on the frame to which it was attached by thebrackets mentioned before. The two members of the ends of the bar areparallel to the two members of the U shaped floater; and to one another.

FIG. 6 is the view of one of the cylindroid 6-61 that is to be attachedto the spokes in the powered wheel. It shows the holes in it 6-62 &6-63, and how they are distributed on it.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section view in a rowing disc 7-71, and how thehyperboloid sections 7-74 are paired on both sides of that disc. Itshows also the thickening or the seat 7-73 around the centered hole 7-72in it. The screws that hold the paired sections are 7-75.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the rowing disc 8-81, and the centered hole init is 8-82, whereas the thickening is 8-83, as of 8-84, they are theequally spaced half hyperboloid sections, and 8-85 are the screws thatattach the pairs together.

FIG. 9 is a cross section view of the rowing foot pedal, 9-91 is theflat portion of the paddle assist, and 9-92 is the curved surface. Thefoot pedal is 9-93. The screws and nuts 9-95 hold the bars 9-94 to theplaten 9-91.

FIG. 10 is a view of the paddle assist 10-1 and its curved portion 10-2,and over the foot pedal 10-3 we find the two bars 10-4, where they holdto the paddle assist by screws and nuts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ROWING BIKE

Bikes could be made to drive on water the same way they are driven onland, by buoying the bike on specially designed floaters, to lessen thefriction with water, and also by providing suitable rowing meansattached to the powered wheel in said bike, and also to its foot pedals.

To keep the bike floating on water, I used buoying means of the shape ofconvex lens, FIG. 1, or half a ball FIG. 2, or of the shape of theletter U in FIG. 5; for the front and rear wheels. FIG. 1 is a crosssection in a floater of the shape of a convex lens 1-11, best design tolessen the friction with water. The floater is made of rigid foam; thetype used in surfboards, then is covered with a protective layer ofrubber or plastic. The floater has a centered hole that crosses it fromone side to another, and reinforced with a rigid tube 1-12 so it willnot chip under pressure. On each side of said tube, at its ends, thereis a disc 1-13 to trap the floater. Through that tube is inserted theend 1-15; of a specially designed shaft 1-16. Four shafts are needed forfour floaters, one for each floater; whereon it freely rotates or spinsaround.

There is a washer 1-14 on each side to lessen the friction; and as of1-17; it is a locking pin to prevent the floater from leaving the shaft.Each bike needs at least four of the mentioned floater's assembly tobuoy it on water, one floater on each side of the wheel; outside theframe of the bike. The floater can take the shape of half a ball, FIG.2, and said floater 2-21 has that same crossing tube 2-22, and anotherassembly similar to that one mentioned before; in FIG. 1.

A specially designed shaft shown in FIG. 3, is used. It is of the shapeof a letter W with an extended member as in 3-31, and around its portion3-32, the floater spins. That extension is then bent for 90 degrees,wherein it will be perpendicular on that plane over which the letter Wis written. The principle portion 3-31 is the one which is to beattached to the frame of the bike, whereas the other member 3-32 extendsas a continuation to the axle of the wheel. As of why the shaft isdesigned to have that shape that is to prevent it from sliding over theframe of the bike under pressure, once they are attached together bysuitable brackets in two or three points, any also prevent it fromswerving. Another advantage of said design, is that it can handledifferent variations in the frame's dimension. A locking pin is 3-33.

The means of attaching the shaft to the frame of the bike, is by usingthe pair of half flat 4-42 paired brackets 4-41 in FIG. 4. They arejoined together by a screw 4-43 and two nuts 4-44 through a hole inthem. Said pair of brackets can join two bars together whatever theangle is there between them. The surfaces of the brackets, in or out,are made course to prevent sliding and, to increase the friction betweenthe metal parts.

It is evident that the size of the floater varies according to theweight of the bike, the size of its tire, and the weight of the rider,but it should come smaller in diameter than that of the wheel, so itwill not hinder pedalling, and also, to be over the ground level toavoid loading on them when driving on land in case they were notdismanteled. The ideal position when the bike and its rider are on thewater, is when the surface of the water levels with the axle of thewheels, and for such reason, the position of the shaft may be varied,and so its length, to be able to carry even more than one floater ifneeded.

Another alternative assembly to buoy the bike is shown in FIG. 5, and itis a wide piece of wood or surfboard, cut as the shape of a big fatletter U (FIG. 5-51), wherein the groove inside it is wide enough forone wheel of the bike to fit in; to about three quarters of itsdiameter. A bar 5-52 centered above said U shaped floater, is attachedto it by screws and nuts 5-53. Both ends of the bar 5-52 are acutelybent backwards at the ends of the floater, then the bar is bent oncemore 90 degrees towards the inside, and then with an upward twist ofanother 90 degrees, there will be furnished a means to attach thefloater to the frame; or fork of the bike, to which the wheel issecured. The position of the floater is adjusted to horizontally levelwith the axle of the wheel. It is worth mentioning, that the ends of thebar 5-55, are bent like the letter W wherein they are attached to theframe, for the reasons mentioned in a former paragraph. It is clear thattwo of such floaters are needed, since each wheel in the bike requiresone of these floaters.

What was mentioned before took in account the floating means of thebike, and what will follow will deal with the rowing means for it, inwhich I used three different methods.

In one of them, cylindroids were used, and FIG. 6 shows one of thesecylindroids. It is made of rigid plastic or metal, 6-61 and its lengthis the distance between the axle of the wheel and its circumference, andwide enough to touch the spokes on both sides of the powered wheel. Eachcylindroid 6-61 has holes in it arranged in a special manner, some arearranged on the line which reaches between two opposite corners 6-62,and others are on the longer distance between two consecutive corners6-63. A number of these cylindroids are needed to fit in the poweredwheel of said bike; which is the wheel that gives the moving power: andthey are evenly distributed and equally spaced in it; and that is byusing suitable means inserted in the holes, and then hung on the spokes.All the curved surfaces face one direction, which is counterclockwiseand which fits on the plane of the wheel. Distributing the holes in thecylindroid according to that manner mentioned before, will save thespokes from being bent under pressure.

A second method that may be used to achieve the rowing action is usingthe rowing disc, and FIG. 7 is a cross section in it, and FIG. 8 is aside view of it.

The disc 7-71 and 8-81 has a centered hole in it 7-72 and 8-82, andaround the hole there is a seat or a thickening 7-73 and 8-83. The discis well seated on the axle of the powered wheel by means of saidthickening, and carries on both sides a number of half hyperboloidsection 7-74 and 8-84. These sections pair on both sides of the disc, asthey take evenly spaced positions on it. By means of screws and nuts7-75 and 8-85, those sections are held together through holes in them aswell as in the disc.

The disk extends to the rim of the wheel, and is positioned on thewheel's plane. All the half hyperboloid sections on it, open to onedirection, as they rotate with the rotation of the disk. And so whenpedalling, the powered wheel will spin around in the water forcing thedisc to rotate, and so also do the cylinderoids, and that will cause thebike to move.

The last method that I used to accelerate the rowing action, is by usingthe rowing pedal or the paddle assist, and FIG. 9 is a cross section inthe rowing pedal, and FIG. 10 is a view of the paddle assist attached tothe foot pedal. The paddle assist is a strong platen, of about sixinches long and eight inches wide, then bent from its middle to form twosurfaces one perpendicular on the other. One part 9-91 and 10-1 is leftflat, and it is the one that is to be put under the foot pedal 9-93 and10-3 when it is in its lowest positions, whereas the other part is bentslightly to the inside to form a curvature 9-92 and 10-2. Two small flatbars 9-94 and 10-4 are put over the foot pedal, and by means of screwsand nuts 9-95 and 10-5, the two flat bars and the paddle assist are heldtogether with the foot pedal in between them. It is clear that the wholeassembly will freely rotate together, and when pedalling, the curvedsurface will push the water past the floating bike, thus causing it tomove. Each one of the two foot pedals in the bike requires a paddleassist.

What I claim is:
 1. A bike for traveling over a water surface whichcomprises:a U-shaped float for partially surrounding a front wheel ofthe bike; a U-shaped float for partially surrounding a rear wheel of thebike; a U-shaped bar attached to the top of each of the U-shaped floats,said U-shaped bar providing means for attaching each U-shaped float tothe bike adjacent its respective wheel, said attaching means comprisingsaid U-shaped bar at each of its ends first being bent inwardly in aU-shaped manner, and then being bent upwardly so as to form a verticalsection, said vertical section being further bent into a W-shape; a diskfor powering said bike, said disk having a central opening for receivingan axle, said disk further comprising a plurality of sections adaptedfor propelling the bike over the water surface, said sections being ofone-half hyperboloid shape and being attached to the disk in alignedpairs; one on each side of the disk; wherein said bike is supported onthe water surface by said U-shaped floats and is propelled over thewater surface of said powering disk.